People react to the Supreme Court's decision to criminalise gay sex

Anger, sadness, frustration were just a few emotions that were recorded, as people reacted to the Supreme Court’s decision to criminalise gay sex

Shame! >> I am the proud mother of two wonderful sons. I am raising them to be sincere, caring, compassionate, honest, and loving individuals. My wish is that they both find partners they can build and share a life with, who will love them the way they deserve to be loved — wholeheartedly, without subterfuge or guilt. Both or either one could be gay.

Does that mean they have no right to love whomever they please in the privacy of their bedroom? And by staying silent, will I join those who want to take away a fundamental freedom from them? I will never support, joke, condone, turn a blind eye, ignore, and trivialise what this Supreme Court ruling means. And shame on anyone who does.— Pavitra Rajaram, interior decorator, aesthete

Consulting Vatsyayana >> I would have said today’s stupid court ruling on gays takes us back to the dark ages of our past, but ancient texts were waaaay cooler than today’s decision makers.

I spoke to the old dead guy from the 3rd century BC, Vatsyayana. When asked for comment, here’s what he said: “Girl, my Kama Sutra was totes down with that sort of thing! LGBT rocks.”— Nandini Lal, writer and editor

Finite disappointment. Infinite hope >> I live in a country of many wrongs. But I lived in hope. I hoped things would change. I hoped for younger leaders who would see that they have to do things for the nation and not just themselves. I lived in hope that education would spread and people would become more tolerant and respectful of each other. I lived in hope that economic growth would spread health and security and I lived in hope that equality and human rights would be enshrined and protected by the law and guarded by the media.

Today, that last hope lies shattered. A single man, a single judge has reversed the freedom of expression and choice of love by his judgment, and the people of this nation now face an uphill battle for reaching that point of equality that we had thought we had reached.

There will be screams of protest. The media will collectively slip into a hysterical frenzy, but at the end of it we will have politicians from across the divide dodging the questions and refusing to commit.

What makes the love of a human for another human wrong? I am still trying to understand this fundamental question.

What business is it of a third person of what two people do with each other in the privacy of their bedroom?

How does the choice of sexuality threaten morality and poison society?

What gives the so-called religious leaders the right to interpret sacred texts to make homosexuality wrong?

Was the relationship between Krishna and Arjun impure in any way?

Do Christians follow every bit of what has been prescribed in the Bible?

There are so many questions and so many arguments, but then there are so many closed minds too. And today, we saw a single closed mind plunge millions back into the shadows.

And as I vented my sadness on social media, I had a person write to me to say: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope,” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

An excellent quote, but with the way things are, hard advice to follow. But, really, do we have any option not to follow it, for the alternative is dark despair?

— Arjun Sawhney, brand consultant

We fight, fight, fight >> Still recovering and giving sound bites to channels. We fight, fight, fight. Imagine, he took 21 months to deliver a no-brainier judgment. But, of course, you can also say that the judiciary doesn’t give us the rights. They were given to us by the Constitution.

The judiciary can only confirm and interpret them; this is the first time the judiciary has taken away the rights confirmed by a High Court ruling. It has betrayed the inclusive nature of the Constitution built assiduously by our founding fathers.— Ashok Row Kavi, activist, journalist

Regressive judgment >> Shame. The regressive Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 is not just a blow for India’s LGBT citizens, it is a blow for all its citizens. When you deny equal rights to one section of your population, you deny it to all of your people. It’s a sad day for India and the idea of India as a whole. A day of mourning and reflection.

— Parmesh Shahani, writer, think-tanker

Not surprised >> Supremely regressive... Not surprised

— Anuradha Prakash-Yusuf, small business owner/mother/wife/opinionist

It’s the 21st century >> Not fair! Not just! Just regressive! Wake up. It’s the 21st century.

— Vaishali Nigam Sinha, social entrepreneur and founder of a charity portal and a renewable energy company

Rule with fear >> Our state is and has always been out of date, trying to rule with fear and suppress fundamental rights.

Our judiciary is unjust. So why and how should we respect them?

Marginalise and penalise the corrupt systems and those who pass judgements in favour of saving criminals, rapists, and arsonists, and allowing them to rule our country!— Faredoon Bhujwala, dancer, spiritualist